A fiat monetary system based on passing around debt-denominated notes is exactly the same as paying your obligations by passing around IOUs representing other people's debt. Whose debt? Who knows. But is says right there it's legal so we do it. Such a system survives only as long as it's continuously expanding, the country taking on more debt every day. Were we to somehow pay or discharge that debt, the American financial system would instantly collapse. It's all based on negative value, the opposite of paying with positive value such as gold or silver. This is why we "tender" these notes, which means to offer something as an alternative to payment. If you can show me a monetary note with the word "pay" on it, I'll show you how you're holding a note from before 1933.
A fiat monetary system based on passing around debt-denominated notes is exactly the same as paying your obligations by passing around IOUs representing other people's debt. Whose debt? Who knows. But is says right there it's legal so we do it. Such a system survives only as long as it's continuously expanding, the country taking on more debt every day. Were we to somehow pay or discharge that debt, the American financial system would instantly collapse. It's all based on negative value, the opposite of paying with positive value such as gold or silver. This is why we "tender" these notes, which means to offer something as an alternative to payment. If you can show me a monetary note with the word "pay" on it, I'll show you how you're holding a note from before 1933.